- Kurt Lane was his name. He died trying to save others...and inspired my father, General Samuel Lane, to join the Marines and serve his country. Rest in peace, Uncle Kurt...you're in the company of heroes.
- — Lois Lane-Kent
Superman (Volume 4) #28 is an issue of the series Superman (Volume 4) with a cover date of October, 2017. It was published on August 2, 2017.
Synopsis for "Independence Day"
The Kents' road trip continues. To make up for lost time, Superman carries the family's RV all the way to Washington, D.C. Upon reaching the city, the Kents visit the United States Capital Building, and Jon asks about a group of protesters on the building's entrance. Clark and Lois teach him about the importance of freedom of speech and take him to the World War Two memorial, dedicated to the brave men and women who fought for America. Later that night, the Kents visit a memorial dedicated to the American soldiers who fought in the Korean War, a war that was never officially recognized as such by the American government. Lois reveals that her uncle, Kurt Lane, was a soldier who died in that war and takes the time to place a flag in the memorial.
The next day, the Kents visist the place where the Battle of Gettysburg took place in. Exploring the woods, they come across the Dowd family and they are invited to have a picnic with them. The eldest Dowd, Arnie, tells the Kents about his ancestor Thomas, a soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Thomas enlisted in the Union army and fought in the Battle of Gettysburg, but he suffered terrible injuries and died when the field hospital he was held at was hit by a flood. The soldiers' bodies were all recovered, except for Thomas, and until he gets properly laid to rest, the Dowd family continues their picnics in Gettysburg every year.
After telling his story, Arnie allows Jon to blow the candle on the cake. The boy complies and everyone toasts for Thomas. Later that night, Superman, with the blessing of Lois, searches the river Thomas drown in and finds Thomas' body. He takes the body, wrapped in an American flag, to the room the Dowd family is staying at and leaves a note that says that the time has come for Thomas to be taken home.
The Kents' family vacation comes to an end and the happy family returns to Metropolis.
Appearing in "Independence Day"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Dowd Family (Single appearance)
- Arnie Dowd (Single appearance)
- Emily Dowd (Single appearance)
- Thomas Dowd (Single appearance) (Dies in flashback) (Also as a corpse)
- Thomas Dowd's son (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Thomas Dowd's wife (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
Antagonists:
- Confederate Army (Flashback only)
- Robert E. Lee (Behind the scenes)
Other Characters:
- Abraham Lincoln (Statue only) (Cameo)
- MPDC (Cameo)
- Union Army (Flashback only)
- Joshua Chamberlain (Statue only)
- K. Warren (Statue only)
- United States Army (Flashback and main story)
- Harry Truman (Mentioned only)
- Ghosts (Mentioned only)
- Japanese Army (Mentioned only)
- Justice League (Mentioned only)
- Khmer Rouge (Mentioned only)
- Kurt Lane (Deceased) (Mentioned only)
- Nazi Party (Mentioned only)
- Sam Lane (Mentioned only)
- United States Government (Mentioned only)
- United States Navy (Mentioned only)
- Jeff Daniels (Mentioned only)
- Chewbacca (Mentioned only)
- Han Solo (Mentioned only)
- Leia Organa (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Earth 0
- Earth (Flashback and main story)
- United States of America (Flashback and main story)
- Pennsylvania
- Gettysburg
- The Battlefield Lodges (Single appearance)
- Rock Creek (Flashback and main story)
- Gettysburg
- South Carolina (Flashback and main story)
- Charleston (Flashback and main story)
- Washington, D.C. (Flashback and main story)
- Capitol Building (First appearance chronologically) (Flashback and main story)
- Lincoln Memorial (Cameo)
- Smithsonian Institution
- Hawaii
- Pearl Harbor (Mentioned only)
- Kansas (Mentioned only)
- Smallville (Mentioned only)
- New York (Mentioned only)
- Hudson (Mentioned only)
- Hamilton County (Mentioned only)
- Metropolis (Mentioned only)
- Pennsylvania
- France (Mentioned only)
- Normandy (Mentioned only)
- Korea (Mentioned only)
- North Korea (Mentioned only)
- Pacific Ocean (Mentioned only)
- South Korea (Mentioned only)
- Vietnam (Mentioned only)
- United States of America (Flashback and main story)
- Justice League Watchtower (Mentioned only)
- Earth (Flashback and main story)
Items:
Vehicles:
- Kents' RV
- SS Mayaguez (Mentioned only)
- U.S.S. Missouri (Mentioned only)
Concepts:
- American Civil War (Flashback only)
- American War of Independence (Mentioned only)
- Korean War (Mentioned only)
- Vietnam War (Mentioned only)
- World War II (Mentioned only)
Trivia
- The Kents RV's license plate number is AC1-1938 which is obviously a nod to Action Comics #1 and 1938, the issue and the year of Superman's first appearance.
See Also